Carburetor



w. w. WALMSL'EYL Oarbureter. No. 238,818. Patented March 15,1881.

Fig. 1.

\mimusms UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM W. WALMSLEY, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

CARBURETOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 238,818, dated March15, 1881.

Application filed December 30, 1880.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, WILLIAM W. WALMSLEY, ofthe city and county of San Francisco, in the State of California, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Carburetors; and I dohereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription of my said invention, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings.

The employment of carbureting apparatus to produce and supply gas forilluminating purposes'has always been attended with many difficulties,both in regulating and adjusting the gas production to have it always inproportion to the consumption, in obtaining the required pressure toforce the air into the carburetor without the trouble and expense ofpower, and in preventing the improper escape of inflammable vapors fromparts of the apparatus. For these reasons, as well as the need ofconstant attention and carefulness, and the amount of space required forsuch apparatus, many apparatus now in existence cannot be used in orabout dwellings either with safety or with economy.

My invention has for its object to provide and combine with thecarbureting chamber or compartment a means for supplying and foreing astream of air with a regular and continuous pressure into and throughsuch chamber without the use of a pump or othermechanical contrivance;also, to make thesupply of air and the production of gas to becontrolled automatically by the consumption thereof, so that thecarburetiug process shall be accelerated or retarded or arrestedaltogether, according as the consumption of gas is varied or is stoppedaltogether, and this without the need of special adjustment orattentiom: In addition to these objects and purposes of .this inventionI also provide thereby for the complete and automatic control of the airand hydrocarbon inlets ofthe carburetor, that no escape of gas orinflammable air can possibly take place from any of the openings.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure I shows my invention, theair-holder, the carburetor, and the air and hydrocarbon inlets being invertical section. Fig. 2 is aview of thecarbureting-chamber with its topremoved,

(ModeL) the same being a half plan view. Fig. 3 is a detail view of theregulating and check valve that is applied to the air-supply pipe.

I construct an air-holder which works without a pumpor other mechanismrequiring power to supply and force air in a regular and continuousstream into aml through a carburetor. I make this holder of an invertedcylinder, A, and a water-tank, B, the former having its lower edgeimmersed in the water to form an air-space between the top or roof andthe water-level. This cylinder being suspended within its tank by a cordor chain and weight, I

give it a greater weight, instead of having it counterbalanced, so thatby pressure upon the bodyot confined air beneath it shall act to forcethe same in a steady stream through an outlet'pipe, C, which connectswith the carburetor. This portion of the holder is like the ordinarygas-holders in construction; but in connection therewith I provide oneor more air inlets, a a, which operate in such a manner that inelevating the cylinder A after it has descended and forced out all theair therein they will admit a new charge of air to till the vacuum. Whenthe cylinder is elevated to its highest position these inlets areautomatically closed to confine the air.

In combination with each of the inlets in the top of the cylinder Iemploy an automatic hydraulic valve, D, which consists of the inlet tubed, opening through the cylinder-top, and the water-cups d, fixed to theunder side of the cylinder in a position to cover and seal with waterthe lower ends of these tubes; and I place their cups 01 low enough toallow them to dip into and take water from the body of water in the tankevery time the air-cylinder descends into it. In this manner I. causethe valves to work automatically and to be al- The operator can ing itscounter-weight it can be regulated to give greater or less pressure andvelocity to the stream of air.

To cause the pressure and flow of air to be constant and in proportionto the consumption of gas from the carburetor, I employ, in connectionwith the air-supply pipe, a regulatingvalve, which I locate between theair-outlet from the holder and the inlet thereof into the carburetor.This valve consists of a valvechamber, E, having above it adiaphragmchamber, 6, containing a flexible diaphragm, E, to which issecured, by a vertical spindle, thevalve G. This diaphragm receivesagainst its bottom surface the pressure of the air that enters throughthe inletf from the holder and passes up through the valve-seat g to theoutlet-tube h, leading from the chamber 6. Against the upper surface ofthis diaphragm is brought the pressure of the atmosphere, either byleading from the top of the chamber and to the atmosphere through anair-tube, 'i, when the valve is located within the air-space of theholder A, or else by having a proper opening above the diaphragm in thetop of the valvechamber when the valve is connected to the air-pipeoutside of the air-holder. In both casesthe air from the holderis forcedup through the valve-opening and the pipe it connected to thesupply-pipe of the carburetor, and its pressure is brought against theunder side of the diaphragm. I so adjust and regulate this valve thatthe pressure of the air in passing to the carburetor will hold it openand clear from its seat g, against the atmospheric pressure above thediaphragm, as long as the outflow of the gas from the carburetor orpoints beyond is free and unchecked; but if at any time this outflow bechecked or retarded so that the air cannot pass from the outlet-pipe ofthe airholder with proper velocity, the increased pressure of airaccumulating beneath the diaphragm will distend it, and byraising thevalve Git will reduce the size of the air-passage; and also, if the flowof gas is entirely shut off, the increased pressure of air against theunder side of the diaphragm will completely shut and hold up the valve.In this manner the production of gas is automatically regulated by theconsumption thereof; for, as a greater or less number of burners isemployed at any time, the outflow of gas from the carburetor isincreased or diminished, and in consequence the flow of air from theholder through the valve is accelerated or retarded to a like degree;and by its change in pressure against the under side of the diaphragm itcauses the airinlet to be enlarged or contracted. The supply of air tothe carburetor is thus always kept in proportion to the consumption orwithdrawal of gas therefrom. I cause this valve to serve and operatealso as a check-valve by making the valve G of a double-conical shape toact against a lower seat, g, and by bringing upon its diaphragm theatmospheric pressure or any other means to throw the valve down wheneverthe pressure against the under side of the diaphragmisremoved.

In raising the air-cylinder A to refill it the vacuum produced wouldtend to draw back from the carburetor the air or inflammable vaporscontained in it and to prevent this action I operate the valve bypressure upon its diaphragm to close the pipe or outlet communicatin gwit-h the carburetor as often as the pressure is removed from beneaththe .diaphragm. In the operation of refilling the airholder allconnection between the air-cylinder and the part of the apparatuscontaining the hydrocarbon liquid and vapors is automatically shut off.

I prefer to construct the carbureting-chamber H of a cylindrical formand of about equal diameter with the cylindrical air-holder, as Ithereby give a more compact form to the machine or apparatus, and alsodispense with outside connection-pipes between the holder and thecarburetor. The cylindrical shape, moreover, is particularly adaptableto the peculiar manner in which I form the carbureting channel orpassage, as the entire space therein is entirely'utilized and convertedinto a continuous spiral passage. I divide this space in the chamberinto a helical passage by employing a strip or partition, I, which Ibend in the form of a regularly-increasing spiral, and secure to andbetween the bottom and the top of the compartment, so that it shall fillthe vertical space between them, beginning at the center of the chamber,or where the air-inlet C is located, and progressing outwardly to thecircumference, where the inlet for the liquid and the outlet Lfor thegas-supply or servicepipes are placed. Before this partition is in placeI cover it with a suitable absorbent surface, either of fibrous ortextile materialas felt or cloth-and secure it in position to hold thespirals at uniform distances apart. This form of carbureting-passagegives a long extent of surface in a small compass, and the curvature ofthe passage produces, also, upon the stream of air forced in at thecenter a rotation of its air-particles among themselves, as well as arapid circulation forward, such action being created by the shortness orabruptness of the curves and the friction or resistance of the covering.

The connection between the inlet 0 of this 1 directly to the end of thepipe, and the whole is inclosed within the holder, as illustrated in thesection, Fig. l.

The means I employ for supplying the hydrocarbon liquid to thecarburetor with safety and facility consist of an upright pipe, J,extending upward. from the chamber alongside of the air-holder, andhaving its end closed by a screw-cap, j. At the lower end of this pipe Iprovide a chamber, K, or an enlargement of the pipe, in which I place afloat checkvalve, K. This part of the, pipe communicates with thehelical passage of the carburetor through the inlet-pipe K and thus whenthe chamber is tilled with the liquid the further supply will be stoppedby the pressure beneath the check-valve K. As often as the quantity isreduced the valve will drop and admit a fresh portion, and so on untilthe pipe J is exhausted of the hydrocarbon. No vapors can escape fromany of these points to mix with the surrounding atmosphere, and theliability to danger from explosions is altogether removed, both bycompletely shutting in the liquid and explosive vapors, and by causingthe outlets and connections between the air-holder and the carburetor tobe closed automatically by the apparatus itself against any back-flow ofair from the supplying-holder. The safe working of this machine istherefore not dependent upon the care or experience of an attendant.

As thus constructed and arranged, my machine is particularly adapted todwellinghouses and like purposes, by reason ofits safety and simplicityand the small amount of room it requires, and more especially by itsbeing operated without pumps or air-forcing mechanism requiring power,and its not demanding the supervision of an experienced attendant.

I am aware that, broadly, the use of an airregulating device located inthe air-forcer chamber and communicating with the carbureting-chamber isnot new.

I am also aware that, broadly, automaticallyoperating valves in the airholder and forcer are not new.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-- 1 1. The combination of the air forcerand holder A, having air-valves, with the carbureting-chamber H and thewater-tank B, provided with a diaphragmed valve-chamber, E 6, having avalve, G, connected to the chamber G, for preventing the return andbackflow of air from the carburetor, substantially as and for thepurpose set forth.

2. In combination with the air holder and forcer A and the carburetor H,the air-regulating device having a flexible diaphragm, E, adouble-seated valve-chamber, E, and double cone-valve Gr, located withinthe holder, connecied to the carburetor by pipe 0, and provided with anair-pipe, 2', extending outside of the holder, substantially as and forthe purpose specified.

3. The combination of the air forcer and holder A, provided with theair-inlet tubes d, having the hydraulic valves D d depending within thesaid holder, with the carb uretingchamber H and the water-tank B,provided with a diaphragmed valve-chamber, E e, having a valve, G,connected by a pipe, 0, to the aforesaid chamber 0, substantially as andfor the purpose set forth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal.

WILLIAM W. WALMSLEY.

Witnesses:

EDWARD E. OsBoRN, W. F. CLARK.

